Hardwork is paying off,says Chawla

Having bowled his pace trio — RP Singh,Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sudeep Tyagi — to the hilt,Uttar Pradesh skipper Mohammad Kaif turned to the leg-spinner after Raina was unsuccessful in breaking the annoying partnership lower down the order between Baroda skipper Irfan Pathan and Rakesh Solanki.

Pathan greeted Chawla to the crease by dancing down the track and hoisting him one bounce into the sight screen. The left hander then cut him through square for another boundary.

Less than an hour after his first over,Chawla lead his team-mates off the field with a four wicket haul against his name — Pathan caught behind in his second over,Solanki bowled,Swapnil Singh and Murtuja Vohra both trapped leg before. His first innings figures read 13-3-47-4.

“I’m glad that I could do well on a pitch which isn’t conducive to spinners,” Chawla told Sportline. “It shows that my stint overseas has paid-off,” he said. Chawla had signed up with Sussex earlier this year as a replacement for Pakistan’s Yasser Arafat.

“Playing County cricket taught me a lot. I bowled continuously for two and a half months on the go in conditions and wickets which aren’t spinner friendly. They included many overs and long spells in cold and wet conditions. It was a learning experience.”

In October this year Chawla switched teams to join Sussex’s northern rivals Surrey as their overseas player for the 2010 season. “Back in Sussex,my home ground was not a Test stadium. With Surrey,I will be playing my home matches at The Oval. It is one of the great places to play cricket in and I am very excited about playing for Surrey next season,” the 20-year old said.

With the hype around him built up exponentially after he bowled Sachin Tendulkar with a googly in the Challenger Trophy final in 2005,Chawla followed the highest run getter into the squad to become the second youngest Indian to wear the Test cap. Apart from two matches in the longer version,Chawla had 21 one-day internationals under his belt before he found himself out of the reckoning.

“I don’t like to think of the past. My aim is to bowl to the best of my ability and see where I can make it from there. I do not have any regrets about being dropped or not getting a longer look in.

“My confidence is sky high and I believe in my ability. I’ve been putting in the hard work and there are results to see.”

Chawla believes that he will get his chance at the biggest stage once again to prove his mettle. “To get back into the Indian team is my biggest priority. I will continue to back myself,” the leg spinner said,adding,“But my immediate role is do well for Uttar Pradesh. My state team has given me everything and I want to give back by doing my best in the Ranji Trophy.”